Australian IT spending to grow 3.7% this year

Australian IT spending is on track to reach $83.1 billion this year, up 3.7% from 2016 and above the expected global average of 2.4%, according to Gartner.

The research firm predicts that software will be the fastest-growing market segment this year, increasing 12.23% to $11.46 billion. But IT services will remain the largest segment overall, increasing 2.5% to $30 billion.

Spending on devices will meanwhile grow 4.06% to $12.17 billion, Gartner said. By contrast, data centre systems spending will grow at a relatively anaemic 0.82% to $2.69 billion, while communications services will grow just 1.82% to $26.8 billion.

For 2018, growth is expected across all categories barring data centre systems, with the overall market predicted to increase 2.7% to $85.39 billion. But in a reversal of this year, total spending growth in Australia in 2018 is projected to be below the global average of 3.5%.

The New Zealand market is also projected to increase 2.7% this year to NZ$11.8 billion ($11.1 billion) and a further 2.3% in 2018 to NZ$12.07 billion.

Communications services is the largest component of the New Zealand market, worth NZ$3.38 billion, followed by IT services at NZ$3.84 billion.

Global IT spending is projected to total US$3.47 trillion ($4.48 trillion) this year and US$3.59 trillion in 2018.

Enterprise software will be the fastest-growing segment of the market, increasing 7.6% to US$351 billion, Gartner said. Communications services is by far the largest segment of the market but is tracking to grow just 0.3% to US$1.38 billion.

Contact Information

Connect with us

Subscribe to Technology Decisions

Technology Decisions offers senior IT professionals an invaluable source of practical business information from local industry experts and leaders. Each issue of the magazine will feature columns from industry leading Analysts, your C-level Peers, Futurists and Associations, covering all the issues facing IT leaders in Australia and New Zealand today.